Raiders shooting for playmaker like Johnny Manziel, GM says

By Dan Greenspan

College Football 24/7 writer

Published:
Jan. 17, 2014 at 11:59 a.m.

Updated:
Jan. 17, 2014 at 12:54 p.m.

After another shambolic season at the quarterback position, the Oakland Raiders will be looking for an upgrade there with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. General manager Reggie McKenzie knows as much, and his endorsement of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel reflects it.

"He's a playmaker," McKenzie told SFGate.com. "Whether it's him or one of these other guys, when you can add a playmaker, that's what you shoot for."

The unquenchable swagger and freewheeling style of Manziel would fit in with the historic image of the team famously described as the "Autumn wind" by Steve Sabol and NFL Films, but based on the initial mock drafts from NFL media analysts Daniel Jeremiah, Bucky Brooks, and Charles Davis, Manziel will be gone before the Raiders are on the clock.

With an enormous amount of dead money coming off the books, the Raiders will have the salary cap flexibility to consider putting together the package of draft picks necessary to move up for Manziel and still upgrade the overall talent level through free agency.

McKenzie also said he would prefer to sit a quarterback during his rookie season and give him and the team additional time to develop. That approach would be a reversal of a recent trend across the NFL, where rookie quarterbacks have been starting immediately.

And while it might make sense to give Manziel or any other rookie quarterback a chance to get settled in before starting, the dearth of talent at the position may force the Raiders to turn to the newcomer. After all, that's why the Raiders will be looking for a quarterback in the draft in the first place.